One-third of physicians have concerns about using virtual care services, such as medical errors that may result, access to technology, and data security.

One in two U.S. consumers are now tracking health via digital tools, and one-half of these share the data generated by their apps. That sharing is limited by doctors’ ability to accept patient-generated data, where only a handful of doctors have implemented technology for remote monitoring or integrating data from wearable technologies. One-fourth of doctors plan to implement this capability in the next two years.

Aside from the technology challenges, which are not trivial, physicians do concur with consumers about the potential benefits of virtual care to expand access, provide convenience to patients, and enable connections in-between office appointment times.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: On a recent walk through Manhattan, I happened upon this ad in a bus stop kiosk promoting the wearable fitness tech products sold at Macy’s. “Macy’s?” you ask. Wearable tech is an important category these days in department stores, with discount retailers like Target and Walmart, at electronics outlets like Best Buy and, of course, via Amazon’s wearable tech ma

The smartwatch category, with fitness tracking, is hot in 2018, some “smarter” than others. Tech companies like Apple, Google, Samsung and Withings are competing with fashion watch purveyors like Fossil (which boasts dozens of popular brands like Burberry, DKNY, Armani, Diesel, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, Callaway Golf, Skagen, Michele and Adidas, among others) and Tag Heuer.

As the Deloitte consumer-vs-physician study shows, there’s a gap between patients who are taking on more DIY healthcare tasks. Clinicians continue to have real concerns about clinical validity (per the AMA’s Dr. James Madara’s comment that so many of these tools and apps can be “digital snake oil.” And worries about medical error rates and privacy are also justifiable reasons for doctors to slow their adoption of (some) digital and virtual care platforms.

But evidence is growing for telehealth and a more remote health monitoring tools, some undergoing scrutiny by the FDA. We have reached a tipping point now that Medicare begins to pay for some virtual care services. Watch this space and don’t blink: virtual care will soon be, simply, “healthcare.”

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4 Comments on Closing the Digital Health Gap Between Consumers and Physicians

[…] This statistic also demonstrates a new tipping point and convergence between health consumers and their doctors, which has been a chasm for a while. I discussed this digital health supply/demand gap here in Health Populi. […]

Going Digital for Health Is a New-Normal for Consumers – Health
said :
GuestReport
2 years ago

[…] gap between health consumers and clinicians remains, as Deloitte found earlier this year, covered here in Health Populi. Those providers who meet consumers’ demands for convenient, quality care will be seen relevant in […]

[…] gap between health consumers and clinicians remains, as Deloitte found earlier this year, covered here in Health Populi. Those providers who meet consumers’ demands for convenient, quality care will be seen relevant […]

Jane will brainstorm the future of health at the intersection of health care and technology with Lisa Suennen, Venture Valkyrie and Leader of Manhattan Digital and Technology Group, and Dr. Geeta Nayyar, prominent physician and nationally recognized leader in health care and technology, at AHIP’s annual Institute and Expo - virtual, on June 18th at 9 am.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) created a wonderful summary of CES 2020 in Las Vegas, which feels like nostalgic today in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a link to the story, and at the bottom, a sweet reminder of my fellow authors and me, all featured in Gary's Book Club for #CES2020. Happy memory!

Jane will be donvene virtually with telehealth stakeholders to bolster the health care consumer message and opportunities at the ATA annual meeting that's -- appropriately! -- going online this year in the COVID-19 era.

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